Posted on March 15, 2010 | Post a comment |
Canal+ has released some more pictures and videos from season three of Engrenages (BBC4's Spiral). I can't embed the videos so you'll have to go to the Canal+ web site for them, but here are the pics. Looks like there's a new female cop on the scene at the very least.
Continue reading "Engrenages/Spiral pics and videos"
Posted on February 25, 2010 | 4 comments |
Seeing as French TV networks don't appear to have discovered the concept of embedded videos yet, you're all going to have to mosey on down to CanalPlus's web site to view the latest edition of L'Hebdo Séries, which – as well as giving you more old clips of current and old US TV shows and movies than you could ever to see even in the US – gives us a little two minute behind-the-scenes look at season three of Engrenages (what BBC4 calls Spiral).
It doesn't tell us much that we didn't already know – assuming my French is up to snuff – except that the third season will start in the Spring on Canal+ (no word yet from the BBC press office and BBC4, unsurprisingly). But it's nice to see that at least on the cops side, most of the previous season's characters are still intact. No sign of Sammy mind.
BTW, did anyone else think that having Grégory Fitoussi play the Baron in GI Joe was just the most jarring bit of casting, ever.
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Posted on November 11, 2009 | 5 comments |
Well, after a bit of investigation, I've tracked down what's happening with season three of Engrenages (Spiral), which has just finished its BBC4 run.
So season three is going to be 12 episodes long and it's been shot in and around Paris (particularly the 19th arrondissement, and inside the Palais de Justice and the Hôtel Dieu) in two blocks: 25th June to the 2nd October this year was the first block, with the second block running from 12th October to the 29th January next year.
As for the plot, it's going to "delve into the deranged mind" of a serial killer, the Butcher of Villette, who kills and mutilates young girls. The show will look at the difficulty of dealing with a high-profile media crime, where even the slightest mistake can have terrible consequences (I'm translating here, in case you couldn't guess).
Interestingly, the BBC is assisting with the show, at least financially, so that should mean BBC4 should be picking up the third season at some point. As for who's coming back from the cast, we have Caroline Proust (Laure), Audrey Fleurot (Karlsson), Grégory Fitoussi (Clement), Philippe Duclos (Roban), Thierry Godard (Gilou) and Fred Bianconi (Fromentin), at least. No word on Samy, I'm afraid.
I've dropped a line to the Beeb about air dates and whether they're going to show it and I'll let you know if/when they get back to me.
Posted on November 3, 2009 | 3 comments |
In the UK: Sunday 1st November 2009, 10pm, BBC4. Available on the iPlayer
Well, it's over now. Time for a collective snivel by viewers of quality TV in Britain. Please, Sir, can we have some more? Etc, etc.
Let's face facts, season two of Spiral aka Engrenages has just finished on BBC4. So let's look over the final episode and the season as a whole, because until season three pops along, this is all we're getting.
Continue reading "Season finale: Engrenages (Spiral) 2x8"
Posted on October 27, 2009 | 7 comments |
In the UK: Sunday 25th October, 10pm, BBC4. Available on the iPlayer
You may have noticed last week that I was a bit worried that the final two episodes of Engrenages (Spiral) were going to be a let down. That the producers might not be sure where they were going, or might have made a mistake or two.
Foolish me. Even the subtitles were excellent this week.
Continue reading "Review: Engrenages (Spiral) 2x7"
Posted on October 20, 2009 | 5 comments |
In the UK: Sunday 18th October, 10.15pm, BBC4. Available on the iPlayer
Tension mounts on Engrenages as the police close in on Aziz, we discover that French domestic violence laws need some work, and that France's witness protection programme needs even more work (because it doesn't have one).
Not that you'd be getting all that tension necessarily from the subtitles - which need work, too. Spoilers and more after the break.
Continue reading "Review: Engrenages (Spiral) 2x6"
Posted on October 16, 2009 | Post a comment |
It's an advert for Canal+, France's (sort of) equivalent of HBO which makes Engrenages (Spiral) – so I guess they'd know.
Posted on October 13, 2009 | 1 comment |
In the UK: Sunday 11th October, 10pm, BBC4. Available on the iPlayer
Last week's slight holding pattern is abandoned in this week's Engrenages (Spiral) as Samy, the Special Branch officer, begins to work his magic on the investigation and Aziz comes back into town.
Spoilers and more after the jump.
Continue reading "Review: Engrenages (Spiral) 2x5"
Posted on October 8, 2009 | 1 comment |
In the UK: Sunday 27th September, 10pm, BBC4. Available on the iPlayer
Episode four, and although it was a slightly less involving affair than normal, Engrenages still continues to live up to the hype. This week: just how well are gay men treated in France by society and the police.
Continue reading "Review: Engrenages (Spiral) 2x4"
Posted on September 28, 2009 | 4 comments |
In the UK: Sunday 27th September, 10pm, BBC4. Available on the iPlayer
It's episode three of the second season of Engrenages aka Spiral, and we have a new theme on top of the usual Engrenages tropes. We have the series' continuing study of the misogyny prevalent apparently everywhere in France, whether it's in the legal system or among the general populace, as well as the acknowledgement that good can be evil and evil can be good.
But in this episode, we also have a look at terror.
Continue reading "Review: Engrenages (Spiral) 2x3"
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